EXCHANGE OF INFORMATION (TAX MATTERS) (GIBRALTAR) ORDER (gibraltar)

EXCHANGE OF INFORMATION

(TAX MATTERS) (GIBRALTAR)

SUBSIDIARY LEGISLATION 123.133

EXCHANGE OF INFORMATION

(TAX MATTERS) (GIBRALTAR) ORDER

12th June, 2012

LEGAL NOTICE 208 of 2012.

The title of this order is the Exchange of Information (Tax

Matters) (Gibraltar) Order.

(Artikolu 2)

FTEHIM

BEJN

IL-GVERN TA’ MALTA

U L-GVERN TA’ ĠIBILTÀ

GĦALL-ISKAMBJU TA’ INFORMAZZJONI

DWAR MATERJA TA’ TAXXA

BILLI l-Gvern ta’ Malta u l-Gvern ta’ Ġibiltà ("il-Partijiet") jirrikonoxxu illi l-

leġislazzjoni preżenti diġà tipprovdi għall-kooperazzjoni u l-iskambju ta’

informazzjoni f’materji ta’ taxxa kriminali;

BILLI l-Partijiet ilhom żmien twil attivi fi sforzi internazzjonali fil-ġlieda kontra

reati finanzjarji u ta’ xort’oħra, inkluż li jitqiegħed fil-mira l-iffinanzjar tat-

terroriżmu;

BILLI huwa rikonoxxut li Ġibiltà taħt il-pattijiet tal-Affidament tagħha mir-Renju

Unit għandha d-dritt tinnegozja, tikkonkludi, twettaq u bla ħsara għall-pattijiet ta’

dan il-Ftehim tikkonkludi Ftehim ta’ Skambju ta’ Informazzjoni dwar it-Taxxa ma’

Malta;

BILLI il-Partijiet jixtiequ jkabbru u jiffaċilitaw il-pattijiet u l-kundizzjonijiet li

jirregolaw l-iskambju ta’ informazzjoni li għandha x’taqsam mat-taxxi;

ISSA, GĦALDAQSTANT, il-Partijiet ftehmu li jikkonkludu dan il-Ftehim li ġej li

fih obbligazzjonijiet minn naħa tal-Gvern ta’ Malta u l-Gvern ta’ Ġibiltà biss

Artikolu 1

Skop tal-Ftehim

L-awtoritajiet kompetenti tal-Partijiet għandhom jipprovdu assistenza permezz

tal-iskambju ta’ informazzjoni li tkun prevedibbilment rilevanti g ħ all-

amministrazzjoni u l-infurzar tal-liġijiet domestiċi tal-Partijiet dwar it-taxxi koperti

b’dan il-Ftehim, inkluża informazzjoni li tkun prevedibbilment rilevanti biex tiġi

stabbilita, stmata jew miġbura t-taxxa dwar persuni soġġetti għal dawk it-taxxi, jew

l-investigazzjoni jew il-prosekuzzjoni ta’ materja ta’ taxxa dwar dawk il-persuni.

Id-drittijiet u s-salvagwardji assikurati lil persuni bil-liġijiet jew bil-prattika

amministrattiva tal-Parti mitluba jibqgħu japplikaw sakemm dawn ma jkunux

indebitament jipprevjenu jew idewwmu l-iskambju effettiv ta’ informazzjoni.

Artikolu 2

Ġurisdizzjoni

Parti mitluba m’għandha ebda obbligu li tipprovdi xi informazzjoni li la jkollhom

l-awtoritajiet tagħha lanqas ma tkun fil-pussess jew il-kontroll ta’ persuni li jkunu

jinsabu fil-ġurisdizzjoni territorjali tagħha.

Artikolu 3

Taxxi Koperti

1. Dan il-Ftehim għandu jkun japplika għal kull taxxa ta’ kull xorta u

deskrizzjoni fil-Partijiet Kontraenti.

2. Dan il-Ftehim għandu jkun japplika wkoll għal kull taxxa identika imposta

wara d-data meta jiġi ffirmat il-Ftehim b’żieda ma’ jew minflok it-taxxi eżistenti.

Dan il-Ftehim għandu jkun japplika wkoll għal kull taxxa sostanzjalment bħal dawk

imposti wara d-data meta jiġi ffirmat il-Ftehim b’żieda ma’ jew minflok it-taxxi

eżistenti jekk il-Partijiet ikunu hekk jaqblu. L-awtorità kompetenti ta’ kull Parti

għandha tavża lill-oħra b’kull bidla sostanzjali fil-liġijiet li jistgħu jolqtu l-

obbligazzjonijiet ta’ dik il-Parti konformement ma’ dan il-Ftehim.

Artikolu 4

Tifsiriet

1. F’dan il-Ftehim

"Malta" tfisser ir-Repubblika ta’ Malta u, meta tintuża f’sens

ġeografiku, tfisser il-Gżira ta’ Malta, il-Gżira ta’ Għawdex u l-gżejjer l-

oħra tal-arċipelagu ta’ Malta inklużi l-ibħra territorjali tagħhom, kif

ukoll kull area ta’ qiegħ il-baħar, tas-sottoswol tiegħu u tal-kolonna tal-

ilma sovrajaċenti u li tinsab adjaċenti għall-ibħra territorjali, fejn Malta

teżerċita d-drittijiet sovrani tagħha, il-ġurisdizzjoni, jew kontroll kif

hemm fid-dritt internazzjonali u fil-liġi nazzjonali tagħha, inkluża l-

leġislazzjoni tagħha li għandha x’taqsam mal-esplorazzjoni tal-blata

kontinentali u l-esplojtazzjoni tar-riżorsi naturali tagħha;

"Ġibiltà" tfisser it-territorju ta’ Ġibiltà;

"kumpannija" tfisser kull korp magħqud jew kull entità li tiġi ittrattata

bħala korp magħqud għall-finijiet ta’ taxxa;

"awtorità kompetenti" tfisser, fil-każ ta’ Malta: il-Ministru responsabbli

għall-finanzi jew ir-rappreżentant awtorizzat tiegħu; fil-każ ta’ Ġibiltà

il-Ministru tal-Finanzi jew ir-rappreżentant awtorizzat tiegħu;

"liġijiet kriminali" tfisser il-liġijiet kriminali kollha msemmija bħala

tali taħt il-liġi domestika, irrispettivament minn jekk dawn ikunux

jinsabu fil-liġijiet tat-taxxa, fil-kodiċi kriminali jew f’liġijiet statutorji

oħra;

"materja ta’ taxxa kriminali" tfisser materja ta’ taxxa li tinvolvi mġieba

intenzjonali, sew qabel sew wara d-dħul fis-seħħ ta’ dan il-Ftehim, li

tkun tista’ titmexxa prosekuzzjoni kontriha taħt il-liġijiet kriminali tal-

Parti li tapplika;

"miżuri ta’ ġbir ta’ informazzjoni" tfisser liġijiet u proċeduri

amministrattivi jew ġudizzjarji li bihom Parti tkun tista’ tikseb u

tipprovdi l-informazzjoni mitluba;

"informazzjoni" tfisser kull fatt, dikjarazzjoni jew record f’kull għamla

li tkun;

"persuna" tfisser kull persuna fiżika, kumpannija jew kull korp jew

grupp ta’ persuni ieħor;

"klassi ta’ ishma ewlenija" tfisser dik il-klassi jew dawk il-klassijiet ta’

ishma li jkunu jirrappreżentaw il-maġġoranza ta’ ġemgħa ta’ voti u l-

valur tal-kumpannija;

"kumpannija li tkun tidher fil-borża" tfisser kumpannija li jkollha l-

klassi ta’ ishma ewlenija tagħha elenkata f’borża rikonoxxuta sakemm

l-ishma elenkati tagħha jkunu jistgħu jinxtraw jew jinbiegħu minnufih

mill-pubbliku. Ishma jistgħu jinxtraw jew jinbiegħu "mill-pubbliku"

jekk ix-xiri jew il-bejgħ ta’ ishma ma jkunx impliċitament jew

espliċitament ristrett għal xi grupp limitat ta’ investituri;

"fond jew skema ta’ investiment kollettiv" tfisser kull vettura ta’

investiment miġmugħ, irrispettivament mill-forma legali tiegħu. "Fond

jew skema pubbliċi ta’ investiment kollettiv" tfisser kull fond jew

skema ta’ investiment kollettiv sakemm l-unitajiet, ishma jew interessi

oħra fil-fond jew fl-iskema jistgħu jinxtraw, jinbiegħu jew jinfdew

mingħajr ebda diffikultà mill-pubbliku. Unitajiet, ishma jew interessi

oħra fil-fond jew fl-iskema jistgħu jinxtraw, jinbiegħu jew jinfdew

mingħajr ebda diffikultà "mill-pubbliku" jekk ix-xiri, il-bejgħ jew il-

fidwa ma jkunux impliċitament jew espliċitament ristretti għal grupp ta’

investituri limitat;

"Parti mitluba" tfisser il-Parti f’dan il-Ftehim li tiġi mitluba tipprovdi

jew li tkun ipprovdiet informazzjoni b’risposta għal talba;

"Parti li titlob" tfisser il-Parti f’dan il-Ftehim li tressaq talba għal jew li

tkun irċeviet informazzjoni mill-Parti mitluba;

"taxxa" tfisser kull taxxa koperta b’dan il-Ftehim.

2. Dwar l-applikazzjoni ta’ dan il-Ftehim f’kull żmien minn Parti, kull frażi li

ma tkunx hemm imfissra għandu jkollha, kemm-il darba r-rabta tal-kliem ma tkunx

teħtieġ xort’oħra, it-tifsira li tkun tapplika f’dak iż-żmien taħt il-liġi ta’ dik il-Parti,

hekk li kull tifsira taħt il-liġijiet tat-taxxa applikabbli ta’ dik il-Parti tkun tipprevali

fuq xi tifsira mogħtija lill-frażi taħt liġijiet oħra ta’ dik il-Parti.

Artikolu 5

Skambju ta’ Informazzjoni meta ssir Talba

1. L-awtorità kompetenti tal-Parti mitluba għandha tipprovdi, meta tintalab

hekk tagħmel mill-Parti li titlob, informazzjoni għall-finijiet imsemmija fl-Artikolu

1. Dik l-informazzjoni għandha tiġi skambjata mingħajr ma jitqies jekk l-imġieba li

tkun qed tiġi investigata tkunx tikkostitwixxi reat taħt il-liġijiet tal-Parti mitluba

jekk dik l-imġieba tkun ġrat fil-Parti mitluba. L-awtorità kompetenti tal-Parti li

titlob għandha biss tagħmel talba għal informazzjoni konformement ma’ dan l-

Artiklu meta ma tkunx tista’ tikseb l-informazzjoni meħtieġa b’mezzi oħra, ħlief

meta l-użu ta’ dawk il-mezzi jkun jagħti lok għal diffikultà sproporzjonata.

2. Jekk l-informazzjoni fil-pussess tal-awtorità kompetenti tal-Parti mitluba ma

tkunx biżżejjed biex il -Parti tkun tista’ tikkon forma ruħha mat-talba għal

informazzjoni, il-Parti mitluba għandha tuża kull miżura ta’ ġbir ta’ informazzjoni li

tista’ tapplika biex tipprovdi lill-Parti li titlob l-informazzjoni mitluba, minkejja li l-

Parti mitluba tista’ ma tkunx, f’dak il-waqt, teħtieġ dik l-informazzjoni għall-finijiet

tagħha tat-taxxa.

It is hereby declared

(a) that the arrangements specified in the Agreement set out

in the Schedule to this Order have been made with the

Government of Gibraltar with a view to preventing fiscal

evasion in relation to taxes of every kind and description

imposed by the laws of Gibraltar;

(b) that it is expedient that those arrangements should have

effect;

(c) that the Agreement has entered into force on 1 April

2012. SCHEDULE

(Article 2)

AGREEMENT

BETWEEN

THE GOVERNMENT OF MALTA

AND THE GOVERNMENT OF GIBRALTAR

FOR THE EXCHANGE OF INFORMATION

RELATING TO TAX MATTERS

WHEREAS the Government of Malta and the Government of Gibraltar ("the

Parties") recognise that present legislation already provides for cooperation and the

exchange of information in criminal tax matters;

WHEREAS the Parties have long been active in international efforts in the fight

against financial and other crimes, including the targeting of terrorist financing;

WHEREAS it is acknowledged that Gibraltar under the terms of its Entrustment

from the UK has the right to negotiate, conclude, perform and subject to the terms of

this Agreement terminate a Tax Information Exchange Agreement with Malta;

WHEREAS the Parties wish to enhance and facilitate the terms and conditions

governing the exchange of information relating to taxes;

NOW, THEREFORE, the Part ies have agreed to c onclude the following

Agreement which contains obligations on the part of the Government of Malta and

the Government of Gibraltar only

Article 1

Scope of the Agreement

The competent authorities of the Parties shall provide assistance through exchange

of information that is foreseeably relevant to the administration and enforcement of

the domestic laws of the Parties concerning the taxes covered by this Agreement,

including information that is foreseeably relevant to the determination, assessment,

enforcement or collection of tax with respect to persons subject to such taxes, or to

the investigation or prosecution of tax matters in relation to such persons. The rights

and safeguards secured to persons by the laws or administrative practice of the

requested Party remain applicable to the extent that they do not unduly prevent or

delay effective exchange of information.

Article 2

Jurisdiction

A requested Party is not obligated to provide information which is neither held by

its authorities nor in the possession or control of persons who are within its

territorial jurisdiction.

Article 3

Taxes Covered

1. This Agreement shall apply to taxes of every kind and description in the

Contracting Parties.

2. This Agreement shall apply also to any identical taxes imposed after the date

of signature of the Agreement in addition to or in place of the existing taxes. This

Agreement shall also apply to any substantially similar taxes imposed after the date

of signature of the Agreement in addition to or in place of the existing taxes if the

Parties so agree. The competent authority of each Party shall notify the other of

substantial changes in laws which may affect the obligations of that Party pursuant

to this Agreement.

Article 4

Definitions

1. In this Agreement

"Malta" means the Republic of Malta and, when used in a geographical

sense, means the Island of Malta, the Island of Gozo and the other

islands of the Maltese archipelago including the territorial waters

thereof, as well as any area of the sea-bed, its sub-soil and the

superjacent water column adjacent to the territorial waters, wherein

Malta exercises sovereign rights, jurisdiction, or control in accordance

with international law and its national law, including its legislation

relating to the exploration of the continental shelf and exploitation of its

natural resources;

"Gibraltar" means the territory of Gibraltar;

"company" means any body corporate or any entity that is treated as a

body corporate for tax purposes;

"competent authority" means, in the case of Malta: the Minister

responsible for finance or his authorised representative; in the case of

Gibraltar: the Minister of Finance or his authorised representative;

"criminal laws" means all criminal laws designated as such under

domestic law, irrespective of whether such are contained in the tax laws,

the criminal code or other statutes;

"criminal tax matters" means tax matters involving intentional conduct,

whether before or after the entry into force of this Agreement, which is

liable to prosecution under the criminal law of the requesting Party;

"information gathering measures" means laws and administrative or

judicial procedures enabling a requested Party to obtain and provide the

information requested;

"information" means any fact, statement, document or record in

whatever form;

"person" means a natural person, a company or any other body or group

of persons;

"principal class of shares" means the class or classes of shares

representing a majority of the voting power and value of the company;

"publicly traded company" means any company whose principal class of

shares is listed on a recognised stock exchange provided its listed shares

can be readily purchased or sold by the public. Shares can be purchased

or sold "by the public" if the purchase or sale of shares is not implicitly

or explicitly restricted to a limited group of investors;

"collective investment fund or scheme" means any pooled investment

vehicle, irrespective of legal form. "Public collective investment fund or

scheme" means any collective investment fund or scheme provided the

units, shares or other interests in the fund or scheme can be readily

purchased, sold or redeemed by the public. Units, shares or other

interests in the fund or scheme can be readily purchased, sold or

redeemed "by the public" if the purchase, sale or redemption is not

implicitly or explicitly restricted to a limited group of investors;

"requested Party" means the Party to this Agreement which is requested

to provide or has provided information in response to a request;

"requesting Party" means the Party to this Agreement submitting a

request for or having received information from the requested Party;

"tax" means any tax covered by this Agreement.

2. As regards the application of this Agreement at any time by a Party, any

term not defined therein shall, unless the context otherwise requires, have the

meaning that it has at that time under the laws of that Party, any meaning under the

applicable tax laws of that Party prevailing over a meaning given to the term under

other laws of that Party.

Article 5

Exchange of Information Upon Request

1. The competent authority of the requested Party shall provide upon request

by the requesting Party information for the purposes referred to in Article 1. Such

information shall be exchanged without regard to whether the conduct being

investigated would constitute a crime under the laws of the requested Party if such

conduct occurred in the requested Party. The competent authority of the requesting

Party shall only make a request for information pursuant to this Article when it is

unable to obtain the requested information by other means, except where recourse to

such means would give rise to disproportionate difficulty.

2. If the information in the possession of the competent authority of the

requested Party is not sufficient to enable it to comply with the request for

information, the requested Party shall use all applicable information gathering

measures necessary to provide the requesting Party with the information requested,

notwithstanding that the requested Party may not, at that time, need such information

for its own tax purposes.

If specifically requested by the competent authority of the requesting Party,

the competent authority of the requested Party shall provide information under this

Article, to the extent allowable under its domestic laws, in the form of depositions of

witnesses and authenticated copies of original records.

Each Party shall ensure that its competent authorities for the purposes

specified in Article 1 of the Agreement, have the authority to obtain and provide

upon request

(a) information held by banks, other financial institutions, and any person,

including nominees and trustees, acting in an agency or fiduciary

capacity;

(b)

(i)

information regarding the beneficial ownership of companies,

partnerships and other persons including, within the constraints of

Article 2, ownership information on all such persons in an

ownership chain;

(ii) in the case of trusts, information on settlors, trustees, protectors

and beneficiaries and, in the case of foundations, information on

founders, members of the foundation council and beneficiaries;

Further, this Agreement does not create an obligation for a Party to obtain or

provide ownership information with respect to publicly traded companies or public

collective investment funds or schemes, unless such information can be obtained

without giving rise to disproportionate difficulties.

The competent authority of the requesting Party shall provide the following

information to the competent authority of the requested Party when making a request

for information under the Agreement to demonstrate the foreseeable relevance of the

information to the request

(a) the identity of the person under examination or investigation;

(b) a statement of the information sought including its nature and the form

in which the requesting Party wishes to receive the information from the

requested Party;

(c) the tax purpose for which the information is sought;

(d) grounds for believing that the information requested is held in the

requested Party or is in the possession or control of a person within the

jurisdiction of the requested Party;

(e) to the extent known, the name and address of any person believed to be

in possession or control of the information requested;

(f)

a statement that the request is in conformity with the law and

administrative practices of the requesting Party, that if the requested

information was within the jurisdiction of the requesting Party then the

competent authority of the requesting Party would be able to obtain the

information under the laws of the requesting Party or in the normal

course of administrative practice and that it is in conformity with this

Agreement;

(g) a statement that the requesting Party has pursued all means available in

its own territory to obtain the information, except those that would give

rise to disproportionate difficulties.

The competent authority of the requested Party shall acknowledge receipt of

the request to the competent authority of the requesting Party and shall use its best

endeavours to forward the requested information to the requesting Party as soon as

possible.

Article 6

Tax Investigations Abroad

1. With reasonable notice, the requesting Party may request that the requested

Party allow representatives of the competent authority of the requesting Party to

enter the territory of the requested Party, to the extent permitted under its domestic

laws, to interview individuals and examine records with the prior written consent of

the individuals or other persons concerned. The competent authority of the

requesting Party shall notify the competent authority of the requested Party of the

time and place of the intended meeting with the individuals concerned.

2. At the request of the competent authority of the requesting Party, the

competent authority of the requested Party may permit representatives of the

competent authority of the requesting Party to attend a tax examination in the

territory of the requested Party.

3. If the request referred to in paragraph 2 is granted, the competent authority

of the requested Party conducting the examination shall, as soon as possible, notify

the competent authority of the requesting Party of the time and place of the

examination, the authority or person authorised to carry out the examination and the

procedures and conditions required by the requested Party for the conduct of the

examination. All decisions regarding the conduct of the examination shall be made

by the requested Party conducting the examination.

Article 7

Possibility of Declining a Request

1. The competent authority of the requested Party shall not be required to

obtain or provide information that the requesting Party would not be able to obtain

under its own laws for purposes of the administration or enforcement of its own tax

laws. The competent authority of the requested Party may decline to assist where the

request is not made in conformity with this Agreement.

2. The provisions of this Agreement shall not impose on a requested Party the

obligation to provide information which would disclose any trade, business,

industrial, commercial or professional secret or trade process. Notwithstanding the

foregoing, information of the type referred to in paragraph 4 of Article 5 shall not be

treated as such a secret or trade process merely because it meets the criteria in that

paragraph.

3. The provisions of this Agreement shall not impose on a requested Party the

obligation to obtain or provide information which would reveal confidential

communications between a client and an attorney, solicitor or other admitted legal

representative where such communications are

(a) produced for the purposes of seeking or providing legal advice; or

(b) produced for the purposes of use in existing or contemplated legal

proceedings.

4. The requested Party may decline a request for information if the disclosure

of the information would be contrary to public policy (ordre public).

5. A request for information shall not be refused on the ground that the tax

claim giving rise to the request is disputed.

6. The requested Party may decline a request for information if the information

is requested by the requesting Party to administer or enforce a provision of the tax

law of the requesting Party, or any requirement connected therewith, which

discriminates against a national of the requested Party as compared with a national

of the requesting Party in the same circumstances.

Article 8

Confidentiality

Any information received by the competent authorities of a Party shall be treated

as confidential and may be disclosed only to persons or authorities (including courts

and administrative bodies) in the jurisdiction of the Party concerned with the

assessment or collection of, the enforcement or prosecution in respect of, or the

determination of appeals in relation to, the taxes covered by this Agreement. Such

persons or authorities shall use such information only for such purposes. They may

disclose the information in public court proceedings or in judicial decisions. The

information may not be disclosed to any other person or entity or authority or any

other jurisdiction without the express written consent of the requested Party.

Article 9

Costs

Unless the competent authorities of the Parties otherwise agree, indirect costs

incurred in providing assistance shall be borne by the requested Party, and direct

costs incurred in providing assistance (including costs of engaging external advisors

in connection with litigation or otherwise necessary to comply with the request) shall

be borne by the requesting Party. The respective competent authorities shall consult

from time to time with regard to this Article, and in particular the competent

authority of the requested Party shall consult with the competent authority of the

requesting Party in advance if the costs of providing information with respect to a

specific request are expected to be significant.

Article 10

Mutual Agreement Procedure

1. Where difficulties or doubts arise between the Parties regarding the

implementation or interpretation of this Agreement, the competent authorities shall

endeavour to resolve the matter by mutual agreement.

2. In addition to the agreements referred to in paragraph 1, the competent

authorities of the Parties may mutually agree on the procedures to be used under

Articles 5 and 6.

Article 11

Implementation of Legislation

The Parties shall enact any legislation necessary to comply with and give effect to

the terms of this Agreement.

Article 12

Entry into Force

This Agreement shall enter into force on the first day of the second month after

receipt of the last notification in which each Party has notified the other in writing of

the completion of its necessary internal procedures for entry into force. Upon entry

into force, it shall have effect

(a) for criminal tax matters, on that date; and

(b) for all other matters covered in Article 1, on that date, but only in

respect of taxable periods beginning on or after that date or, where there

is no taxable period, all charges to tax arising on or after that date.

Article 13

Termination

1. This Agreement shall remain in force until terminated by either Party.

2. Either Party may terminate this Agreement by giving notice of termination

in writing. Such termination shall become effective on the first day of the month

following the expiration of a period of three months after the date of receipt of notice

of termination by the other Party.

3. If the Agreement is terminated the Parties shall remain bound by the

provisions of Article 8 with respect to any information obtained under this

Agreement.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF the undersigned being duly authorised in that behalf by

the respective Parties, have signed the Agreement.

DONE in duplicate, this 24th day of January, 2012.

Joseph Zammit Tabona

Gilbert Licudi

FOR THE GOVERNMENT

FOR THE GOVERNMENT

OF MALTA

OF GIBRALTAR